Jim Thorpe Biography: Net Worth, Salary, Height, Parents, Measurements

Known for movies

Short Info

Died	March 28, 1953, Lomita, California, United States
Spouse	Patricia Askew, Freeda V. Kirkpatrick, Iva Miller
Fact	Inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1972 (inaugural class).

Jim Thorpe was born on May 28, 1888 in Prague, Oklahoma. His parents were Hiram and Charlotte Thorpe; his father was a farmer and his mother was a homemaker. He had six brothers and sisters. Thorpe attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he played football and track. He excelled in both sports, and was named an All-American in football in 1911 and 1912. Thorpe also won gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. After his Olympic triumph, Thorpe signed a professional baseball contract with the New York Giants. He played Major League Baseball for six seasons, from 1913 to 1919. Thorpe retired from professional sports in 1928, and worked various jobs to support himself and his family. He died on March 28, 1953, at the age of 64.

#triviatuesday What was Thorpe's Native American name? https://t.co/X1401GKQ0q
— Jim Thorpe (@JimThorpe_) January 17, 2017

Thorpe was born in Prague, Oklahoma, on May 28, 1888, to Hiram Thorpe, a farmer of Irish and Sac and Fox descent, and Charlotte Vieux Thorpe, a homemaker of French descent. He was the seventh of eight children: Jacob, George, Susie, Bill, Pete, Wiley, Jim, and Glenna. His mother died when he was nine years old, and his father remarried soon afterwards. Thorpe grew up on the family farm near Prague. He attended elementary school at the Sac and Fox Agency School in Stroud, Oklahoma. When he was 10 years old, his father died of pneumonia, and he went to live with his older sister Susie at the Sac and Fox Agency.

Thorpe began attending Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1904. He was a talented athlete, and played both football and track for the Carlisle Indians. In 1911 and 1912, he was named an All-American in football. He also won gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. After his Olympic triumph, Thorpe signed a professional baseball contract with the New York Giants. He played Major League Baseball for six seasons, from 1913 to 1919.

Thorpe retired from professional sports in 1928, and worked various jobs to support himself and his family. He died on March 28, 1953, at the age of 64.

General Info

Full Name	Jim Thorpe
Died	March 28, 1953, Lomita, California, United States
Height	1.85 m
Weight	92 kg
Profession	Actor, Sailor, Baseball player, American football player
Education	Haskell Indian Nations University, Carlisle Indian Industrial School

Family

Spouse	Patricia Askew, Freeda V. Kirkpatrick, Iva Miller
Children	Grace Thorpe, John "Jack" Thorpe, Richard Thorpe, Gale Thorpe, Carl Thorpe, William Thorpe, Jim Thorpe Jr., Charlotte Thorpe
Parents	Hiram Thorpe, Charlotte Vieux
Siblings	Charlie Thorpe

Accomplishments

Awards

SI's All-time College All-Stars

Social profile links

IMDB	http://imdb.com/name/nm0861680

Facts

#	Fact
1	He died in his trailer home in Lomita, CA. Thorpe was eating dinner with his wife, Patricia, when he suffered a heart attack. Patricia's screams attracted a neighbor, Colby Bradshaw, who administered artificial respiration for nearly half an hour. A county fire rescue squad took over and was momentarily successful. He revived, recognized persons around him and spoke to them. Thorpe was conscious for only a brief time before he suffered a relapse and died.
2	Inducted into the San Pedro [California] Sportswalk to the Waterfront.
3	Inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1972 (inaugural class).
4	Inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1986. The hall of fame is administered by The Jim Thorpe Association.
5	The Jim Thorpe Award has been presented annually by The Jim Thorpe Association to the best defensive back in college football since 1986.
6	After he died in 1953, the town of Mauck Chunk, Pennsylvania, in exchange for the right to bury his body, offered to change its name to Jim Thorpe, PA. A movement has since been started to have his body returned to its native Oklahoma.
7	In addition to his many athletic accomplishments, he also won the 1912 Intercollegiate Ballroom Dancing Championship.
8	According to "Peanuts and Crackerjack", a book of baseball anecdotes, while the early twentieth-century New York Giants teams were fun-loving, nobody dared to try to mess with Jim Thorpe. Thorpe was described as a man with a "gold medal temper" with brute strength to back it up. One teammate described Thorpe fighting a man as a dog would grab a rat.
9	Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 (charter class).
10	Had a twin brother, Charles Thorpe, who died of pneumonia at the age of nine. Jim loved his brother and never ceased to mourn him.
11	Of combined Irish and Native American (Sac and Fox) ancestry.
12	Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, 1983 (charter member).
13	The Olympic medals which were stripped from him during his professional career were returned to his family in the early 1990s.
14	His Native American name was Wathahuck (Bright Path).
15	Halfback for the Canton Bulldogs (1915-1920,1926), Cleveland Indians (1921), Oorang Indians (1922-1923), Rock Island Independent (1924), New York Giants (1925) and Chicago Cardinals (1928).
16	Outfielder for the New York Giants (1913-1915, 1917-1919), Cincinnati Reds (1917) and Boston Braves (1919).
17	Charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
18	Pictured on one of fifteen 32¢ US commemorative postage stamps in the "Celebrate the Century" series, issued 3 February 1998, celebrating the 1910s; honored for his accomplishments in the 1912 Olympics.
19	Pictured on a 20¢ US commemorative postage stamp issued in his honor, 24 May 1984.
20	Named America's greatest athlete of the first half of the twentieth century.

Movies

Actor

Title	Year	Status	Character
The Dark Horse	1932		Blackfeet Indian Chief (uncredited)
Battling with Buffalo Bill	1931		Swift Arrow [Chs. 9-12]
Touchdown!	1931		Football Player (uncredited)
Wagon Master	1950		Navajo Indian
White Heat	1949		Big Convict (uncredited)
Yes Sir, That's My Baby	1949		Assistant Coach (uncredited)
Road to Utopia	1945		Collins - Ship's Passenger (uncredited)
The Vampire's Ghost	1945		Native (uncredited)
Beyond the Pecos	1945		Townsman (uncredited)
Outlaw Trail	1944		Henchman Spike
Outlaws of Santa Fe	1944		Townsman (uncredited)
They Died with Their Boots On	1941		Indian (uncredited)
Meet John Doe	1941		John Doe Applicant (uncredited)
Prairie Spooners	1941	Short	Indian
Mexican Spitfire Out West	1940		Indian (uncredited)
Prairie Schooners	1940		Chief Sanche
Arizona Frontier	1940		Gray Cloud
Henry Goes Arizona	1939		Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Man of Conquest	1939		Cherokee Indian (uncredited)
The Man from Texas	1939		Posse Rider
Frontier Scout	1938		Henchman (uncredited)
Start Cheering	1938		Head Linesman (uncredited)
Cattle Raiders	1938		Trial Spectator (uncredited)
Born to the West	1937		Barfly (uncredited)
52nd Street	1937		Street Thug (uncredited)
Big City	1937
San Quentin	1937		Convict (uncredited)
Pick a Star	1937		Man in Audience at Talent Contest (uncredited)
Green Light	1937		Indian (uncredited)
Trailin' West	1936		Black Eagle
Yellowstone	1936		George (uncredited)
The Phantom Rider	1936		Indian (Ch's 11,13) (uncredited)
Wildcat Trooper	1936		Indian Fur Trapper
Treachery Rides the Range	1936		Chief Red Smoke
Under Two Flags	1936	uncredited
Hill-Tillies	1936	Short	1st Indian
Silly Billies	1936		Medicine Man (uncredited)
Sutter's Gold	1936		Man (uncredited)
Klondike Annie	1936		Minor Role (uncredited)
Captain Blood	1935		Pirate (uncredited)
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara	1935	Short	Indian Chief (uncredited)
The Ivory-Handled Gun	1935		Henchman Jack (uncredited)
Moonlight on the Prairie	1935		Henchman (uncredited)
Fighting Youth	1935		Football Player from Carlisle (uncredited)
The Last Days of Pompeii	1935		Spectator Tossing Coins (uncredited)
Barbary Coast	1935		Indian (uncredited)
It's in the Air	1935		Indian Father (uncredited)
Wanderer of the Wasteland	1935		Charlie Jim
The Farmer Takes a Wife	1935		Indian (uncredited)
The Daring Young Man	1935		Convict (uncredited)
She	1935		Captain of the Guard (uncredited)
The Arizonian	1935	uncredited
Alibi Ike	1935		Major League Baseball Player (uncredited)
Code of the Mounted	1935		Eagle Feather
The Miracle Rider	1935		Indian Warrior (uncredited)
One Run Elmer	1935	Short	Second Baseman (uncredited)
Under Pressure	1935		Mucker (uncredited)
Rustlers of Red Dog	1935		Chief Scarface [Chs. 6, 11]
Behold My Wife!	1934		Indian Chief (uncredited)
The Red Rider	1934		Bill Abel, Portos Henchman
Sweepings	1933		Indian (uncredited)
King Kong	1933		New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Wild Horse Mesa	1932		Indian Chief
Air Mail	1932		Indian (uncredited)
The Golden West	1932		Medicine Man (uncredited)
Always Kickin'	1932	Short
White Eagle	1932		Indian Chief (uncredited)
Off His Base	1932	Short	Jim Thorpe
Hold 'Em Jail	1932		Football Player (uncredited)
My Pal, the King	1932		Black Cloud (as James Thorpe)

Writer

Title	Year	Status	Character
Jim Thorpe -- All-American	1951	biography - as James Thorpe

Miscellaneous

Title	Year	Status	Character
Jim Thorpe -- All-American	1951	technical advisor

Thanks

Title	Year	Status	Character
Circle of Champions the History of Woman's Pro Wrestling	2017	Documentary in memory of pre-production

Self

Title	Year	Status	Character
Texaco Star Theatre	1951	TV Series	Himself - Athlete
The Baseball Revue of 1917	1917	Documentary	Himself
The Giants-White Sox Tour	1914	Documentary short	Himself

Archive Footage

Title	Year	Status	Character
Gomorron	2009	TV Series	Himself
100 Years of Olympic Glory	1996	TV Movie documentary	Himself - with King Gustav in 1912 (uncredited)
Idols of the Game	1995	TV Mini-Series documentary	Himself (segment "Inventing the All-American")
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to James Cagney	1974	TV Special documentary	Actor 'White Heat'
Viewing Sherman Institute for Indians at Riverside	1915	Documentary short	Himself